This invention relates generally to ice and/or liquid dispensers and, more particularly, to methods and systems for ice and/or liquid dispensers having a touchless detecting device.
Some conventional appliances, such as refrigerators, include a dispensing system having a storage tank for cooling and storing water, an ice maker, and a dispenser to dispense ice and/or water. The dispensing system dispenses ice and/or water upon actuating a lever located within a door of the refrigerator. The user physically touches or contacts the lever to exert a sufficient force to move the lever and actuate the dispensing system. Users may have difficulty actuating the lever. Additionally, ice and/or water is continuously dispensed as long as the lever is actuated. Users may not timely deactivate the lever and ice and/or water may undesirably spill from a container positioned with respect to the dispenser. Further, repeated contact with the lever may promote unsanitary conditions.
Some conventional dispensing systems include a detection device having an acoustic sensor that emits an acoustic pulse and receives an associated acoustic pulse as a result of an object reflecting the emitted acoustic pulse. The detection device then determines a position of the object based on the reflected acoustic pulse. However, the acoustic sensor cannot effectively detect an object positioned at a close proximity, such as within about 20 cm. Additionally, the acoustic pulse is radiated in a conical pattern at a distance greater than about 20 cm, which results in undesirable clutter and noise. As such, a plurality of acoustic sensors may be required for detecting an object beyond a distance of about 20 cm, which undesirably increases the number of components and/or the manufacturing cost.